Thieds to chas



(No' Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' M. I. CONNETT. MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE AND PIGKET FENCES. No. 301,806.

Patented July 8, 1884 &

WWII.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

M. P. OONNETT. MAOHINE FOR MAKING WIRE AND PIGKET FENGES.

No. 301,806. Patented July 8 1884..

WW/MZ hiwwwe, 9

N. PETERS. Plwwuho m mr. Walhington. ac.

(No Model.) I 3 Sheets- Sheet a.

M. P. CONNETT.

MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE AND PIGKET FENCES. No. 301,806. Patented July 8, 1884.

Y N l-TED STATES PATENT O FICE.

MATTHEWV F. OONNETI, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF'TWO- THIRDS TO CHAS. A. ORR, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE 'AND PICKET FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 301,806, dated July 8, 1884. I Application filed October 25, I883. (N0 model.)

To all whom it mag concern: 7 p v Be it known that I, MATTHEW F. CONNETT, of Springfield, in the county of Sangamon, and in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Making Wire and Picket Fence; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a plan View of the upper sideof' my apparatus. the same. apparatus. Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical central section of the reel. Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the twisting-spindles. Fig. 6 is a central longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the picket-holder. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the upper side of the same; and Fig. 9 is a View in side elevation of the picket-rack, portions being Fig. 2 is a front elevation of broken away therefrom.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.

The design of my invention is to enable combined wire and picket fence to be easily and "cheaply made; and to this end said invention extends from the base B to the cross-bar O,

and receives certain bolts 11, whichpass horizontally through the same, and operate to clamp upon the front sideof said standard a series of journal-boxes, D, of ordinary construction. Between each pair of said boxes is a bolt, E, which passes throughsaid slot, and has its front projecting end provided with a longitudinal slot, 6, as shown in Fig. 3.

Within each box D, and within the corresponding box, D, of the opposite standard, is

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of said' journaled a hollow spindle, F, which has the ends of its axial opening rounded or flared outward. Asmall gear-wheel, f, is secured to said spindle between the standards A, while upon one end is a head, G, that has the form' with the periphery of said roller, where it acts as a tension, for purposes hereinafter named.

Vithin the slotted projecting ends of each pair of bolts E is journaled a shaft, H, which is provided at its longitudinal center with a small gear-wheel, h, that meshes with the gearwheels f of the spindles F iinmediately'above 7c and below, performs the ofiice of an intermediate wheel, and causes the motion of one of said spindles to be communicated to the other spindle. .By means of the slots or within the standards A. the bearings of said spindles F and shafts H may be adjusted vertically, so as to bring their said gear-wheels into properrelative positions for engagement. The upper spindle, F, is provided upon its rear end 1 with a gear-wheel, f, which corresponds in size to the gear-wheel f, and meshes with a similar gear-wheel, I, that is journaled upon a stud, z, in rear of and somewhat above said gear-wheel f. A third larger gear-wheel, K, meshes with said gear-wheel I, and is se 'cured upon the end of a shaft, 7:, which is journaled in boxes D, as shown in Fig. 2, while a fourth gear-wheel, L, having the size of said gear-wheel K, is journaled upon said shaft 1c and meshes directly with said gear- 0 wheel f.

Above the shaft 7c is journaled a drivingshaft, M, which at one end is provided with belt-pulleys m,'and at points directly above the gear -wheels K and L has secured two 5 wheels, N and 0, each of which has one-third of its periphery provided with teeth 12 and 0, respectively, which are relatively arranged upon opposite sides of their respective wheels. I

As thus arranged, it will be seen that if the shaft M is caused to rotate continuously in one direction the toothed portion a of the wheel N will engage with the gear-wheel K, and through the wheels I and f cause the spindle F to revolve while such engagement lasts. A period of rest equal in time to onesixth of a revolution of said spindle will then ensue, and then the toothed portion 0 of the wheel 0 will engage with the wheel L, and through the same cause said spindle to revolve in a direction directly opposite to that before produced.

Iivotcd upon opposite sides of a suitable frame, 1 in a line with the spindles F, are two series of reels or spools, Q, for holding wire, which spools are arranged in pairs, and each pair so located vertically as to permit the wires (1 from the same to pass forward through the axial opening of one of said spindles. From the front end of said axial opening each wire (1 passes outward and forward around one of the rollers g beneath the spring and from thence forward to a reel, It, where its end is secured upon a hook, 1, that is placed within a groove, r, which extends lengthwise of the periphery of said Windlass. The reel t is journaled vertically within a frame, S, and is provided at its lower end with a broad radial flange, 1, and at its upper end with a pulley, T, to the periphery of which pulley is secured one end of a cord, U, which from thence passes horizontally to a grooved wheel, 8, that is journaled within said frame S. The outer lower end of said cord is provided with a weight, a, which, through said pulley T and cord U, operates to revolve said windlass in the direction shown by the arrows of Fig. 1 when said cord has been wound upon said pulley.

Situated in a line with the front end of the head G is a rack, V, for holding pickets which rack has such interior width as to enable said pickets to be loosely contained therein, and such dimensions from front to rear as to permit ofthe insertion therein of any desired number of such pickets standing upon end. The front side of the rack V is open, and at or near its vertical center is provided with two spring-clamps, e, which have the form in plan view shown in Fig. 8, and oper' ate to clamp the front picket, q, and hold the same in position. An arm, \V, operated by weight \V, and located at the rear side of said rack, presses against the rear picket and holds the contents of said rack with a yielding pressure against said clamps r. The bottom of the rack V is removed at the front side sufficiently to permit the front picket, q, to drop downward when not confined by the clamps, and the latterarc opened at the proper moment by means of an arm, an, which extends radially from the shaft M, and has its end adapted to pass between the outwardly-curving ends of said clamps at each revolution of said shaft.

The operating mechanism of the spindles F is so arranged that at each period of rest of each spindle the arms y of the head G occupy the position shown in Fig. 1, and the wires g at such point are separated horizontally a distance equal to the space between the outer portions of the peripheries of the rollers g, and such separation is immediately beneath the front picket, q, and occurs at the instant that said picket is released from its clamps o. lVhen the picket q is rcleased,it drops downward between the wires q, issuing from the arms of each spindle F, and rests upon a stop, X, on the frame,directly below the discharge end of the picket-holding rack.

By arranging the machine vertically, as shown and described, and so placing the rack that the successive pickets can be allowed to drop into place between the wires by the action of their own weight, I avoid entirely the necessity of any of the mechanism or devices heretofore used for pushing or forcing the pickets end wise into position to have the wires twisted about them. As each picket drops down into position it is forced forward against the twists in the wires q, behind the preceding picket, and is held firmly in place by the radial arms y on the vertical shaft Y. This shaft is given a partial rotation to cause the arms 7 to strike against and force forward the picket by a radial arm, m",on the end of shaft M, engaging a similar arm, 7 upon the upper end of shaft Y at each revolution of such shaft M. The shaft Y can be caused to rotate back again to its first position after being partially rotated, as described, by a weight and cord or any other desired means.

Any particular means need not be described herein, as devices for this purpose are very common and well known, requiring merely mechanical skill to adapt them to suit any particular case.

The gearing for driving the twisting-spindles is so timed and constructed that as soon as the picket has been pushed forward into place the spindles will be caused to revolve to twist the wires together behind it. The revolution of the spindles is in one direction to twist the wires behind one picket, and in the opposite direction to twist them behind the next one. Thepickct, as it is forced forward by the arms 1 ,pushes the completed fence before it. As it is pushed forward it is wound upon the reel already described herein, the weight on the cord passing around the pulley on the reel-shaft, exerting just sufficient force to cause the reel to revolve and take up the slack of the fence as it is pushed on, as described.

In fence-making machines as heretofore constructed the fence is pulled forward by the reel, which, by means of levers and pawl and ratchet mechanisms, is caused to be partially revolved through a distance equal to the desired space needed between the pickets for each twist. A picket is then inserted between the wires, and a twist is made in them behind it. It has been impossible to adjust the tension of the wires in such machines so that the tension on those acted upon by one end spindle should be equal to that on those twisted by the spindle at the other end of the series. One end of the picket last fastened in place by the twisting of the wires behind it will then be pulled farther forward as the fence is drawn along by the reel than the other. The next picket will then not be parallel with the preceding one. A variation from the desired parallelism, slight at first, will be increased and multiplied as the process of making the fence goes on. In my machine the wires are pulled out through the spindles by the lath itself moving forward before the twist is made in the wires behind it. As the picket is always carried forward into position exactly parallel to the vertical line through the series of spindles, it will, when fixed in place by the twisting of the wires, stand at right angles or perpendicular to the lines of the fasteningwires, its position being determined independently of that of any of the preceding pickets.

In consequence of the construction of the standards A and the journal-boxes D, the spindles F may be set at any required distance apart, and a fence produced which has any desired number of wires.

The fence as constructed is automatically wound upon the reel, and the operation of the machine may be continued as long as the supply of wire and pickets lasts.

Having thus fully set forth the nature and merits of my invention, what I claim as new is- 1.- An upright machine for constructing fence from wires and pickets, provided with a suitable rack for holding the pickets verti cally, means for feeding them along in the rack, and means for allowing them successive-f 'ly to drop by force of gravity vertically into place between the wires to be twisted, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a fence-machine having the vertical series of wire-twisting spindles, means for feeding along the picket-s and allowing them to drop by gravity successively into position between the two wires issuing from the end of each spindle, substantially as shown and described. I

3. In combination with the vertical picket holder or receptacle having its discharge end so situated that a picket can drop therefrom between the two wires issuing from the arms on each spindle, substantially as shown and described.

5. In combination with the wire-twisting and picket-feeding mechanism, the shaft Y, provided with the radial arms 3 and y, and adapted through the action of the shaft M and 'arm m to engage with and hold a picket, q, in position for engagement by the wires q, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

6. In combination with the fence-constructing mechanism, the reel It, provided with the hooks 1' within the' groove 1*, and pulley T, and the cord U, secured at one end to said pulley, and having at its opposite end the weight a, whereby the fence is wound in a roll as it passes from the machine, substantially as shown and described.

7 As a means for constructing fence from wires q and pickets g, the journaled hollow spindles F, provided each with a gear-wheel, f, the head G, having the arms 9, rollers g, and tension-springs the intermediate gearwheels, h, the gear-wheelsf and I, the shaft 7r, provided with the gear-wheels K and L, the shaft M, having the radial arms m and m", and the partial gear-wheels N and O, the spools Q, adapted to contain and deliver said wire (1, the reel R, the picketrack V, provided with the spring-clamps v, the weight-operated arm NV, and the shaft Y, having the radial arms y and '1, all constructed and combined to operate substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my handthis 5th day of September, 1883.

MATTHEWV F. GONNETT.

- Witnesses:

S. HUMMENLOUGH, SoL. Hnss. 

